Ragnarok Chronicles : Demon War
by Blackheart Ravensoul
Summary: The second arc of Ragnarok Chronicles.
1. Chapter 1

Ragnarok Chronicles

Demon War Arc

Chapter I

After the awakening of the gods Asgard seemed to return to its normal state. With the exception of Odin, Heimdal, Frigg and Sigyn who, during Ragnarok fell into the Emerald River of Dreams. Their souls remain asleep under the emerald waves, forever removed from the cycle of rebirth. The peace however soon came to an end. A mysterious plague spreads, turning the living into undead. Other world with the exception of Midgard ( earth), Jotunheim and Helheim seem to be having similar problems. In an attempt to find out who stands behind this magical plague Loki discovers a powerful darkness inside himself (read Ragnarok Chronicles). In order to learn to control it he undergoes training with the mysterious white wizard.

Black smoke was rising from the cracks in the burnt ground. Random bursts of hot steam, hot enough to burn the flesh off your bones, shot up into the forever dark sky with a hiss. The smell of ash and sulfur was in the air. No trees only black burnt ground with red gloving cracks for miles. This is Dark Valley. The most desolate part of Helheim. Once ruled by the mighty dragons now a barren wasteland. Two figures were moving across the plains. One an old man dressed in white robes. The other was a white haired man in his twenties, wearing light armor. They moved through the valley in silence.

A million questions was running in Loki's head. Two days ago he told the wizard about his decision. The old man said nothing and just this morning he told him they were going to Helheim. What was the wizard up to? Did they come here to train? "All things in good time"- he said when they left. So now he was dragging his feet after the man in white eyes watering from the heat and throat full of ash.

"I think this is far enough for today" the old wizard stopped

"We're going to camp out here? In the middle of this fiery wasteland?" Loki complained

"Over there should do fine" he pointed his walking stick to gap in the cliff.

The cap was big enough to fit the both of them inside. The wizard took out his horn and blew it twice. Instantly a jug of cool water and bowls of fresh fruit appeared. Loki drank until he felt like he was going to explode. The journey across the burning plains was exhausting. However the wizard didn't seem to be the least bit tired. He just sat there slowly sipping water from his silver chalice. The silence was beginning to annoy the god of lies.

"You still haven't told me what we are doing here." He stated in a slightly annoyed tone "Where are we going? When will you begin teaching me?"

"You will see when we get there. As for your training I never said I would be your teacher. Before you can take on the full power of Ragnarok , I suggest you practice controlling the power you already have. This place was once a battle field, chaos is strong here. You should be able to sense it. It should make your powers stronger."

Loki was both disappointed and angry. He didn't get any answers, only more questions. So he took the opportunity to go out. In an attempt to calm down he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He was still to shaken up by the resent revelations, too scared of what he was or of what he could do. Maybe the wizard was right, taking it slow was the best way. If he isn't careful he just might bring about another end of the world.

He tried to call upon his magic. It worked; it was his normal every day magic. Loki focused trying to sense the dark magic of chaos inside him. It almost seemed to not be there anymore but he knew it was too good to be true. Then he felt it. The familiar, dark energy rising from the depth of his own magic. Unlike before, when he just randomly set things on fire, Loki lifted his hand and drew a Rune in the air. **Tiwaz- ** (justice, judgment, sacrifice) the symbol became visible, usually spell sighns were invisible. Glowing with purple light it was clearly visible in the air. He added a few other runes and they became a black arrow that shot into the horizon and vanished.

The spell worked differently than it usually did. The whole idea of the spell was to create an invisible arrow, one that could not be dodged. The black arrow was clearly visible, but it was faster and obviously could fly longer distances.

No matter how hard he tried, the arrow remained clearly visible. Any attempt to conceal it was in vain. The sky turned purple and black with approaching storm clouds. Lightning flashed in the distance.

"Beautiful isn't it" said the wizard

"Yes, but dangerous and unpredictable."

"Exactly like chaos. It is the opposite of order. There is no stability, no balance. You never know that course it will take. But you already know that you, Loki of the Wild Fire."

The god laughed at the use of his old title.

"Nobody called me that in a long time."

"We'd better get inside, the storm is going to hit soon.

Loki followed the old man into their temporary shelter. This new magic was going to be hard to control. Just summoning it for a simple spell was tiring. He could bet he knew the reason. Ragnarok, the monster was probably angry with him so it decided to not share its power. But the wizard was right, because of the gap in the cage some of Ragnarok's chaos magic poured out and mixed in with Loki's own magic. All he had to do was to draw stronger on that magic. Not exactly the control he wanted but a start none the less.

The thunder clapped above their heads and heavy rain poured down on the ash covered land. Suddenly it got chilly, with all the heat gone. Loki wrapped himself in his cape and leaned back against the wall of the tiny cave.


	2. Chapter 2

Loosing Control

The next day they set out again to the unknown destination. The chill from after the storm was soon replaced with scorching heat. The fires under the earth lit up once again. Black clouds of smoke obscured the sun. The only light that lit their path was the fire randomly bursting from the gaps int the ground and the glow of magma in crater like pools.

Loki felt uneasy. This whole deal was begining to seem strange. His trust in the wizard was declining. Too many guestions were left unanswered. Where was he taking them? How did he know so much about Ragnarok? Who was he realy? Lost in thought he didn't notice the wizard stopped.

„This is not good" the old man said looking down into the valley they had to cross.

Loki snapped out of his thoughts and looked down. Rivers of hot lava had flooded the valley.

"So what? We can fly over it" Loki said

The wizard shuck his head

"I'm afraid it's not that simple, my friend. The underground passage that we seek will most likely be inaccessible and it is the only way to our destination."

"So we are just going to sit here until the lava cools down?"

"That may be our only option"

Cursing under his breath the god of mischief walked off. The wizard seemed content with simply sitting on a rock and waiting. Loki decided to take out his annoyance on the boulders littering the valley. He getting better at controlling his powers. He used _**Tyr**_ the warrior rune, the rune appeared in the center of his palms then started turning black. It was used to create invisible energy blades but now what Loki got was a solid sword of black crystal. Being a magic user he never relied on brute force so holding a sword was unusual for him. However this time he felt that he will need to use one. Ragnarok had too much control over his magic, it wasn't safe to use it. Thou the monster hasn't tried anything since they left Jotunheim. Loki suspected it had something to do with the wizards presence. There was not telling what the beast could do when Loki on his own again.

Summoning a second sword he began practicing . It felt foreign his moves were unnatural, the god of mischief realized he had grown too dependent on his magic.

"You look like you could use some help" the wizard said observing Loki.

"Sword were never really my thing" he responded

"Mind if I join you?"

"Suit yourself, old man"

The wizards staff turned into a golden spear. Before he could figure out what was going on the tip of the spear lit up and a giant ball of glowing energy sent him flying.

"What's the big idea?"

"I'm helping you with your training" the wizard stated matter- o- factly

"What does this have to do with learning how to use a sword?"

"Before you can attack you should learn to dodge" the white wizard sent another energy ball at him.

Loki jumped out of the way with a self-satisfied smirk.

"Very good" the old man smiled" But you still got ways to go"

This time two energy spheres appeared and attacked Loki from opposite directions. Before he could do anything the god of lies was flat on his stomach in the dust.

"This is going to be a long training session" he mumbled getting up.

They trained till dusk. The trickster god was covered in dirt and bruises from being knocked down. he did manage to dodge one or two attacks but every time he dodge the number spheres would increase. Tired he dragged his feet to the camp they had set up under a large rock sticking out of the cliff. The wizard blew his horn and food appeared, but Loki was too tired to feel hunger.

"It will take away the feeling of exhaustion" the wizard offered him a cup of some golden sweet smelling liquid.

Reluctant Loki took it. The drink was sweet and pleasant. It did make him feel a little better, the sting from the bruises was gone and his body didn't feel as heavy. After having an apple he retired for the night.

Next day he awoke feeling full of strength. After a light breakfast he went training with the old wizard. At first it was just one, he dodged it by moving to the side. Then the two spheres from left and right. He jumped back making them both collide and explode. After that three at once. Two from left and right and one more coming in straight. Falling to the ground he rolled away. He was determined to dodge everything the wizard could throw at him. Four energy spheres surrounded him and began to close in. using just a little bit of his magic Loki jumped above them when they were about to collide.

"Well done" the wizard smiled

"It seems that there is nothing you can't throw at me that I can't dodge" Loki was feeling confident, may a little too confident

" We are not done yet. You have much to learn. This time try using you sword to attack."

Loki summoned his blades and braced for the attack. It was a single sphere but it moved twice as fast. He got knocked off his feet before he could raise his sword. It was a torture but it a better pass time that sitting and waiting.

The next day was pretty much the same. The wizard kept pushing Loki to his limits. So much that it made him call upon the power of chaos. On the third day when the sun setting Loki was tired from a day of crushing failure. He made almost no progress in dodging the faster spheres. When he attacked them they would explode and send him flying to the ground. Tired and angry he didn't even feel it, a dark aura surrounded his body he rose from the ground and dashed forward in blinding speed. He cut the approaching balls of energy and leaped over them dodging the explosion. He ran straight at the wizard. The sword in his hands glowing black he sent a wave of black energy from the blade at the wizard. It missed the old man's face by just an inch.

"That is quite enough" the wizard said but Loki didn't stop.

The white wizard rose his weapon and pointed it to the ground. Loki's feet sank knee deep into the ground. He tried to break free. As the older man approached him he tried to strike him with his sword. With a raise of his hand the white mage sheltered the crystal into pieces. Lifting his spear he placed the tip to the younger man's chest and spoke in an ancient language. The speak began to glow and the dark aura around Loki vanished. The collapsed unconscious.

Loki woke up confused. It was dark, they were back at camp. He didn't remember going back.

"What happened?" he asked confused

"You collapsed" the wizard said" perhaps I was pushing you too hard" he said after a pause" rest now, it's late"

Putting his head back on the pillow the god of lies fell back to sleep.


End file.
